History with MasterPlumber.com

National Public Health Act 1848

In 1848, England passed the National Public Health Act, which would become a model plumbing code for the world to follow. It mandated some kind of sanitary arrangement in every house, whether a flushing toilet, or a privy, or an ash pit. The government also released 5 million British pounds for sanitary research and engineering, and began to build a sound sewer system.

But progress was slow. It was an enormous job to undertake. Slowly people warmed to the idea of sanitation. There was still widespread disease.

The National Public Health Act opened the way for critical studies regarding sanitation, some examples being sewage disposal, the transport of wastewater and wastewater treatment.

During the 1950s and 1960s, the United States government provided funds for the construction of municipal waste-treatment plants and water-pollution research, mirroring the basic ideas of the National Public Health Act.